Tesla Stock Halted After Elon Musk's 9-Word Tweet

In this June 14, 2018, file photo Tesla CEO and founder of the Boring Company Elon Musk speaks at a news conference in Chicago. Musk says he is considering taking the electric car maker private. Tesla’s stock spiked Tuesday, Aug. 7, after Musk made the abrupt announcement in a terse tweet. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)In this June 14, 2018, file photo Tesla CEO and founder of the Boring Company Elon Musk speaks at a news conference in Chicago. Musk says he is considering taking the electric car maker private. Tesla’s... (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

(Newser)
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A nine-word tweet posted to Elon Musk's account on Tuesday caused an afternoon ruckus in regard to Tesla stock. "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured," the CEO tweeted. CNBC reports Fox Business reporter Liz Claman asked Musk about the share price and got a single-word response: "420." There were initial questions about whether the tweet was legitimate or "serious," as Reuters puts it (a follow-up tweet from Musk's account simply read, "Good morning" followed by a smiley face emoji; others pointed out the 420-marijuana connection, per CNBC). However, Musk has followed up with a blog post making clear the idea is indeed under serious consideration.

"First, a final decision has not yet been made, but the reason for doing this is all about creating the environment for Tesla to operate best," he writes. "As a public company, we are subject to wild swings in our stock price that can be a major distraction for everyone working at Tesla, all of whom are shareholders." If it happens, it would be the biggest take-private deal ever, given that it would value Tesla above $70 billion, notes the Wall Street Journal. Tesla's stock closed up 11% at $379.57 on Tuesday; trading was temporarily halted at one point after Musk's initial tweet, but it resumed before the trading day ended. The stock's 52-week high is $389.61, which it hit in September.

i am close to a moron but reading the comments below has restored my confidence in myself.

nutterbutter

Aug 7, 2018 8:43 PM CDT

Some Big HEDGE FUNDS and a lot of little SHORTS got Burned today, they bought this stock back up 25 points today.. Gonna be like CRABS in a bucket tomorrow if it trades lower then 420.. ohhhh I like the smell of burning shorts... rofl,,,, guess they should have shorted Papa J instead..